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It’s Time for VIPs to Take the Hacker Threat Seriously—and Personally

WikiLeaks’ purported CIA hack shows that old iPhones and laptops, not to mention web-connected TVs and baby monitors, put you and your organization at risk

Documents released by WikiLeaks this week said to describe CIA hacking methods should put corporate executive on notice to take the threat of hackers seriously, says WSJ Keywords columnist Christopher Mims. He and Tanya Rivero also discuss why hiring cybersecurity professionals to protect organizations is no longer enough. Photo: Bloomberg

If Edward Snowden’s leak of National Security Agency data was a wake-up call that everyday citizens could be subjected to mass surveillance, then WikiLeaks’ latest dump of purported CIA hacking tools should be a wake-up call to high-profile personnel in governments, corporations, nonprofits and media outlets: If you find yourself in the crosshairs of a hacker, your digital life could get owned like never before.

Simply hiring cybersecurity professionals to protect your organization is no longer enough, if you’re a sufficiently...